No Anejo's Post

Not because it wasn't good. Don't know. We didn't get to try it.

We go out to dinner most nights. If we don't, it is usually because we are having a family dinner. I just can't stay home at night, and especially on a weekend night. During the week, we usually decide at the last minute where we are going, but on the weekend, it is a planned event.

We had planned to go to Anejo's. We have had people working on the house the last couple of weeks. The tile guys started yesterday morning. We knew it would take at least two days. What we didn't know is that it was going to be days and NIGHTS. Last night, we kept thinking, maybe they will leave around 6. Maybe they will leave around 7. I hear them taking plastic outside. They must be cleaning up. Maybe 7:30. I see one guy leave with an empty bucket. I see him come back with a full bucket or mortar. I give up at 8:45 and go pick up El Paisa. Finally at 9:55, they left. I felt sorry for them for working so hard and long. They had to stop by another house to pick up another crew and said they would be back this morning at 9.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to go out. Have other plans for the rest of this weekend and the next couple of weekends, so we will try Anejo's sometime in the future.

New Restaurant

Trying a new restaurant tonight. I hope it is good and I can write great things about it. We have been hitting several new restaurants and have found some good ones. I am hoping this will also be a great hit. If there is no post, you will know it didn't hit the mark.

Another Crockett Street Favorite

A couple of weeks ago, we found another great place on Crockett Street, Patrizio's. The week had been a little rainy and cooler than usual, so we decided to sit out on the patio so we could watch all of the actions going on. It was fun, but there were a ton of flies. They had fans going, but it didn't deter them very much. That was the worst part of the meal. Other than that, it was fantastic! The dining room is very nice.

We started out with the Crab Cake appetizer. Very good. (On a side note - if you go to their website and register, you instantly get a coupon good for a free appetizer. This is a good one to get.)

I had the Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna. It was delicious. The pasta was homemade along with a couple of different sauces. Pops had the Chicken and Sausage Cannelloni. It had a Roasted Red Pepper and Alfredo Sauce. Very good. Looked like Italian Enchiladas.

We were very full and done . . . until we saw the dessert menu with Cappuccino Pie. That is one of our favorites and it did not disappoint.

The only negative about Patrizio's is that they don't take reservations. You need to get there early. The wait start at around 6.

I'm thinking this just might have to be a Patrizo's weekend.

HOT Date!!!

We have all kinds of "rules" in our house. One of those rules is we want to keep our marriage exciting. One of the ways we do that is by having regular "date nights". Having all of our kids grown up and on their own makes this pretty easy. We have many date nights a week, but Saturdays are our sacred night when we have a "real" date.

We take turns planning each weekend. We like to act like we are newly dating and our dates have to be exciting. If you were single and dating, what kind of date would make you fall for a guy? If he took you to the restaurant down the street at a strip center, would you be all excited? Of course not. You want to "go out on the town". Nice restaurant, Dallas, Ft. Worth, movie, play, etc. That is what Saturday nights at our house look like. I think after 37 years of being together, it is working for us!

Last Saturday night it was my turn to plan. I got tickets to a local play, Steel Magnolias. I loved that movie. I decided we would eat sushi beforehand and chose the restaurant with just the perfect amount of timing.

We went to Piranah Killer Sushi in Arlington. The hostess greeted us at the door by telling us the A/C was broken, but you are welcome to stay. I HATE hot places. We walked in and it didn't feel too bad, so we decided to stay. We really didn't have time to find another place since we had a time schedule. It was certainly not the ideal situation, but it wasn't just absolutely horrible either. We ate really fast though. The saving grace was we would get some relief in the car, and of course, theaters are always cold.

We got to the theater and the lobby was HOT. I couldn't wait to get to our seats, until I realized they we not so cool either. I kept hoping things would get better, but it never happened. It wasn't unbearable, but it was really warm and stuffy. The play was VERY slow and lasted 3 hours. There were several times during the night that we would look at each other and say, "you want to leave?", but we didn't.

It was a long HOT date. I hope next weekend is better!

Let's Have a Little Bit of Fun

I was just visiting over at Kelly's Korner, one of the regular blogs that I read. Kelly's latest post is another "Show Us Your Life". This week, Kelly is doing a little match making and is having "Show Us Your Single Boys or Girls".

I have a cute little single girl I am going to "offer up". All of the kids are married or have found a special significant other except for Janelle.

So, here is to mine and Kelly's matchmaking skills.

Here is the latest picture I have of her from her birthday, last week. She is with her favorite man.

The best word to describe her is she is FUN! Janelle is 23. She graduated from college in 2009 and she also has her Cosmetology License to do hair. She has a full time job at a local church. She is a strong Christian, so if you are looking for a party girl, you will have to look elsewhere, but she is guaranteed to give you a fun time.

Brownstone

Another great new discovery on Crockett Street (on the corner of Crockett and Currie) is the Brownstone. It is owned by Casey Thompson, who was a contestant on Top Chef, where she became well known.

The Brownstone has two concepts. One is to use locally grown produce and meats and the other concept is "small plates". You can order several smaller portions and get more of a variety.

We had a salad and three small plates. The salad was not your usual lettuce and dressing that Pops so loves. This salad had fresh okra, squash, turnips and other unidentifiable vegetables. Next time, we would probably skip the salad.

I will see if I can accurately describe what we had. First we had a small cast iron skillet that was filled with orange chicken. It was very spicy and sweet and oh so good. It was a little messy because it was on the bone. Next we had the "Grandmother's Biscuit Pan". It was three homemade biscuits with homemade venison sausage and of course homemade strawberry preserves. Really good. We then had what was called "Pork and Peppers". It was a piece of pork belly, baby bell peppers with homemade ricotta, Texas honey and jalapeno oil. Good but very rich.

I saw several other entrees that I would like to try next time. They had some larger plates for those who would prefer just a regular entree. Desserts looked good, but we were too full for anything else. Can't wait to go back.

I LOVE Crockett Street

We first discovered Crockett Street in Ft. Worth about 6 months ago. There was hardly anything open yet, but it looked like a really neat area. We ate at Tillman's, which was so disappointing, and we never gave it much thought again


Fast forward to about a month ago. After eating in Ft. Worth and killing some time, we went to Barnes & Noble. While there, I was reading a local magazine that gave a great review for Terra Mediterranean Grill. We drove by and were really impressed by the area. We decided to go to Terra's the following weekend.

The whole area has now filled up and is still filling up. Lots of new restaurants with outside patio's, movie theater, lots of lights and lots of people.

We ordered an appetizer of olives and feta cheese. I wasn't too crazy about it, but Pops loved it. We both ordered the Gyros. I thought it was going to be a sandwich. To our surprise, it was a huge plate of meat. We could have easily split it with plenty of leftovers. It was very good and so was the pita bread that was served with it.

It has a neat atmosphere. It looks like they have a lunch buffet during the week for around $10. That would be a great way to try a bunch of dishes that you wouldn't normally order. Definitely a place to try again.

On a side note, if you plan on going to the movies, buy your tickets in advance. We tried to see Grown Ups on a Saturday night. We went to get tickets about 45 minutes before the movie started and it was sold out. The ticket agent told us that most movies are sold out on the weekends. Buy in advance!

Sweetie Pie's

I have been so neglectful of the blog. I need to update it because I have about four new restaurants that we have tried and actually really liked.

The first of those is Sweetie Pie's. It is located in Decatur and is owned by the family that owns Babe's. Need I say more?

We went on a Friday night. Lots of traffic getting there and it took us about 1 1/2 hours. The way home was much better. It only took about 45 minutes. I am so glad that there was not a wait. Just like Babe's, there is not a great place to wait. There is no extra room inside, so you have to wait outside. Kind of hot on a 100 degree day. No place to sit, but they are kind enough to have a big jug of ice water and some festive Christmas cups. I wasn't sure if that was just a fun little treat, of if they were really left over from Christmas.

The wait was all worth it with the first bite of the roll. I could live on bread alone and this was some of the best I have ever eaten. It was a cross between a yeast roll and a biscuit, but extra sweet. At the end of the day, they slice the leftovers and make croutons for the salad. That made the salad extra good.

Pops had the Ribeye, and I had the Chicken Fried Ribeye. It was probably the best piece of Chicken Fried Steak I have had. Think about it - Ribeye - yum, Babe's chicken coating, double yum. The Ribeye was also very good. The only disappointment was their "special" baked potato. It is dipped in a vat of rosin and wrapped in brown paper, and served with a special butter topping. It sounds much better than it really is. It tasted just like a normal baked potato and not the unusual potato I was expecting.

We were too full to try the desserts that really looked great. It was definitely worth the drive and we will be back for more.